“The M10-D feels like a product born from a boardroom interpretation of nostalgia rather than a craftsman’s philosophy. Instead of honoring the purity of the M lineage, they simulated it.” – The inimitable words of ChatGPT! On my prompting.
I suggested to AI (ChatGPT) that the Leica M10-D (released 2018) derogated from the ethos of Leica namely to create pared-down (pure) cameras that focused on capturing great images. The concept of pure photography and integrity underpin Leica’s ethos.
The word ‘genuine’ comes to mind and yet the Leica M10-D is anything but genuine. It has a fake wind-on lever. It is meant to wind on 35mm film but there is no film in the Leica M10-D because this is a digital camera meant to look like an old Leica. As I said: fakery.
The fake wind-on lever acts as a thumb grip to help stabilise the camera. I find that extraordinary; that Leica could have come to that decision. To create something that radically undermines the whole raison d’être of the Leica camera: pure photography using pure equipment that drives the user to focus on capturing the image.
Purity equates with functionality and genuinness. The wind-on level is meant to wind on 35mm film not be a thumb grip. No true functionality and definitely not genuine.
And the MD-10 does not have a screen at the back of the camera to view the images. This, too, is designed to replicate film photography. But this is crazy because one of the functional benefits of that screen is to check images and make corrections if needed. It is functional.
Perhaps the M10-D’s creation was a reflection of the tension and friction between the desire to find those great photographic moments with film as made famous by Magnum photographers and the drift towards over-complex cameras and overdone photo-editing. – Michael
The M10-D seems to embody a kind of existential tug-of-war: between the soulful spontaneity of Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moment and the algorithmic precision of modern digital workflows. Leica tried to bottle that elusive magic of film-era storytelling, but instead of trusting the photographer’s discipline and intuition, they built a digital simulacrum with analog gestures.- Chat GPT
The fakery goes deeper because where there used to be an ASA reminder dial on the original film Leica, the M10-D has an exposure compensation dial. Actually, it is quite neat to be fair but the fakery element upsets me. The dial is designed to look like an ASA reminder dial.
But the worst of it is the fake wind-on lever. Sad that. Genuine photographers trying to capture a great image – focusing on that aspect of photography rather than the camera itself – should find this fake Leica the wrong tool for them.
Cameras need to be entirely functional. Yes, they can be pretty too but the emphasis is on utility and functionality. Let’s focus on that and not pander to nostalgia.
It is no good pretending to be a Magnum photographer from times past carrying a couple a Leicas and a Nikon. That is playing games. It is role play. There is nothng inherently wrong in role play but it is not good photography.
And it is a game that Leica is playing with this camera. They submitted to a cohort of amateur photographers who with the best of intentions want to be genuinely good photographers by using equipment that makes them good. It does not, sadly.
Genuinely good even great photography takes a lot of effort and can be uncomfortable. You have to be at the sharp end confronting stuff. What I mean is that the Leica is synonymous with street photography; capturing people. It is about searching for the ‘decisive moment’ when the image reveals something about human behavior that can’t usually be seen.
This is a search for the truth. Fake equipment does not sit well with this objective. I suspect that the Leica boardroom directors were stuck on what kind of new variation on the original Leica they could come up with. Leica does like to release slightly modified versions of their famous rangefinder camera. They reached too far. Lost their way in trying to cash in on the nostaglia for old film cameras.
You see wannabe photographers wandering around London with old 35mm film cameras. For me it is a bit sad. Far better to embrace digital photography which is far more functional than film and use it to best advantage.
And to say that film has some sort of magic is I think slightly delusional as Fuji film simulations can replicate film photography very accurately.
More: cat photography
P.S. On the Leica M10-D the wind-on lever is ‘parked’ in the rest position but can be pushed out to allow it to act as a thumb rest and then pushed back to the inactive position when not taking a photo.
